


Light a Match, Burn a Flame

by franticfinch13



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Blood, Developing Relationship, F/F, Illustrations, Jake/Claudette in the bg, Lesbians, Multi Chapter, Slow Burn, Swearing, Temporary Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:40:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23023393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/franticfinch13/pseuds/franticfinch13
Summary: Nea Karlsson has never been good at working with others. Being alone has always worked for her and holding people at arms length always kept her safe on the streets.These aren't the streets anymore.Now that Nea's stuck in an eternal game of cat and mouse, maybe she'll have to break her own rules too.
Relationships: Nea Karlsson/Meg Thomas
Kudos: 21





	Light a Match, Burn a Flame

There's a small chill in the air that travels down Nea's spine as she squats down in the abandoned asylum. Spray paint bottles clank together in her old backpack as it hangs off of one shoulder, a sound that’s familiar to her during her nightly escapades. She has one of the cans in her hand, the cap somewhere on the gritty old floor from when she had popped it off with her thumb. But instead of spraying up her usual tag, she holds the base of the can like some sort of blunt weapon. Her back is pressed to the cold wall of the top floor, balancing on her toes like she’s about to run. Something isn’t right.

She’d set out that night to do something that was supposed to be quick- just a small graffiti job to the blank side of the old asylum building and then she could head back and brag to her street friends. No biggie, standard stuff. Nea figured she’d be back long before the sun came up, even though the drive out here was longer than most of her usual tagging spots in the city.

Only it's not that simple. Some fog rolled in quicker than she had ever seen before, leaving Nea unable to see more than a foot in front of her own face. Now she had no choice but to hunker down inside the dilapidated building until this freak weather goes away. It's almost suffocating, like she can feel it when she breathes in. The wind resembles whispering of some sort, with Nea trying to write it off as paranoia. But no matter how hard she tried to convince herself it was fine, it still gave her the feeling of fear closing in around her in a way she couldn’t ignore.

She figures she's lucky when it clears up, but when she’s able to see her surroundings Nea is quick to realize that something is very, very off. It’s still the asylum, sure, but more broken down and dilapidated than she’d seen prior. Rubble and debris litter what remains of the concrete flooring, undoubtedly from the roofing that has caved in much more than when Nea had last seen. Steel beams protrude from the walls, several of which seem to still be smoking- or hell, even _blazing_ \- near the top. Nea’s eyes narrow. 

That’s new. They sure as hell weren’t anything near smoking before the fog rolled in.

She narrows her light blue eyes and turns to lean around the corner, peering out at the asylum’s surroundings through a hole in the wall. There should be a highway in the distance, along with a few bits of rubble and a road sign advertising some stupid themed dinner theater back in the city. Nea sees none of those things now, only rubble and walls interspersed in the open field. There’s a taller wall that stretches around as far as she can see, and her stomach feels like it drops. _None of this was there before either._

Before that troubling piece of information has any time to sink in, Nea’s train of thought is promptly interrupted by a harrowing, high pitched screech. It’s enough to have her tense up, causing a brief internal debate before curiosity wins over and she sticks her head out of the opening in the side of the wall. Usually nothing good ever comes from loud noises, especially at night, but she’s never heard anything like this. Nothing immediately jumps out at her as the culprit, but then again nothing seems to be moving at all. It’s eerie, but she leans a little further out to try to make sense of where the fuck she is. _Why didn’t she see this wall before? Is she on the right side?_

A fucking hand grabs her shoulder.

Nea whirls around out of instinct, her backpack falling to the ground with a clatter as she's trying to swing at whoever’s currently taken hold of her arm. She makes a small yelp of surprise before her fist is caught by the person’s other arm and she’s shouldered to the wall. The Swede has no time to protest before the hand leaves her fist and covers her mouth, leaving her furious at herself for not noticing someone approaching.

“Hey- _hey!_ Shut up for a second, okay?”  
  
Nea finally gets her first look at the offender— a woman, taller than her by a couple inches and quite well built as she’s able to hold Nea to the wall easily enough. Her long red hair is tied up into braids that hang over her shoulders and her eyes are determined, her brows furrowed in a way that creates a small wrinkle at her forehead. Nea’s eyes flick down briefly. The woman is dressed in athletic wear that’s all covered in mud and…. _is that blood?_

“Look, I’m not the person you need to be scared of right now, got it? I’m gonna let go, but just…..just stay quiet okay?” The redheaded woman hisses at her as Nea glares back at her, watching a lock of hair come loose from one of the woman’s braids. After a moment to be sure Nea won't do anything stupid, the woman lets her go and steps back.

“What the hell was that for?” Nea immediately rounds on her, though the athlete doesn’t seem too fazed. 

“Shh. You were about to yell, and...out here that’s basically suicide. Especially since _you’re_ new, and that means whatever’s _out there_ is new too.” The other woman makes a gesture at nothing in particular as she continues with a note of urgency. “ We don’t know what we’re dealing with right now.” Nea just looks at her with an expression that’s somewhere between incredulousness and irritation until she huffs and tries again. “Look...you’re probably confused and stuff, we all were. And I’m like….I’m not super great with explanations, that’s Dwight’s thing. Fuck.” She rubs at her forehead for a moment. “Basically, I guess this is like the closest thing I can think of to Hell. There’s something out there that wants us all dead. And they hang us on these hooks and then this spider god thing comes and...it’s just not a good time.”  
  
Nea almost finds herself on the edge of laughing. _Hooks? Gods?_ “You’re mental.”

“I’m _not_ mental! You’re going to find out sooner or later, but if you just listen for a second-”

“You want me to listen to your bullshit?”  
  
“Yes! Just _trust me!_ ” The redhead raises her voice in obvious frustration, stomping her foot down on the floor. Nea just curls her lip, fed up with whatever this woman is trying to get her to believe. She decides to just turn and try to find her way out of the asylum on her own. _That’s what you’re supposed to do on the streets, ignore the crazies._ She settles for slinking past the redhead with an elbow, ignoring the woman's protests and stepping towards the nearby staircase before there’s another haunting screech. This one seems to be accompanied by a whoosh of air and several fallen leaves go flying off of the floor, but Nea is far more distracted by the arrival of _an entire person_ appearing mid-screech in the hall right in front of them.

Everything feels like it slows down as the monster appears in front of Nea. She seems to be somewhat humanoid, her face covered by a dirty pillowcase tied around the neck, an old tattered white dress hanging over her frame. Her feet don’t even touch the ground, her head tilted in a way that Nea can almost imagine an invisible noose around her neck that extends to the rafters. She almost looks like an old timey nurse, although no nurse Nea had ever seen had brandished such a nasty looking bonesaw. Her breathing is ragged, clearly forced and painful sounding. Nea finds that she’s rooted in place, unable to run before the Nurse swings down that wicked bonesaw and it digs into the flesh of her shoulder. She’s unable to hold back a cry as it pierces through her skin with an agonizing burn, causing her to stumble back as she tries to make sense of what just happened.

She makes sense of it by getting the hell out of there, turning on her heel and running back towards the hole in the wall. Her hand presses to her shoulder as she runs past the other girl, jumping off of the second floor without another thought. _She’s jumped from worse places out on the streets, and for far less than a fucking bonesaw wielding maniac._ Nea lands neatly on her feet, keeping her balance before she starts to break into a sprint. Her heart thuds loudly in her ears and pounds in her chest, her mind awash with fear. It’s something Nea doesn’t often feel and something she absolutely hates to feel. _That other chick is on her own._

In only a moment she’s proven wrong, a whoosh of air breezing past her ear with another wicked screech. She hardly has time to register what that means before the Nurse is in front of her, the saw slashing down and taking Nea with it. Hitting the ground drives the air from her lungs and she gives a pitiful sounding wheeze as more pain hits her through her side. The dirt feels cold and damp and for a moment she just closes her eyes like it would all go away.

It does not.

The Nurse lifts her up like a ragdoll, the wretched woman exhibiting way more strength then she has any right to possess. Nea can feel bony fingers at her back, momentarily disoriented until she realizes that she’s being carried fireman style. She tries beating at the back of the Nurse and kicks her feet, the fabric of the Nurse’s dress smelling heavily of mildew in a way that has Nea’s nose wrinkling. “Let–me–go!”

She’s still kicking and wiggling when she’s lifted up off the woman’s shoulder and experiences a brief glimmer of hope until a shooting pain tears through her shoulder. Unable to stop herself from crying out, Nea screams as her hands fly up to find purchase on the grimy and bloodsoaked hook that now protrudes through her shoulder. She blinks back the tears that well at her eyes as she takes a shuddering breath, her weight pulling her down just enough that the hook sits agonizingly through her body as she dangles a foot or two off of the ground. Nea can’t tell if she’s in shock right now, whispering to herself as she looks down at her blood covered hands. “What the fuck? What the _actual_ fuck??”

She regains enough sense to try and pull herself off the hook, but it’s angled in a way that it’s agonizing to even attempt. Nea has to give up after a couple tries when something else catches her attention. There’s a crackling noise that resembles fire, but she sees no smoke and smells nothing burning. Looking down at the base of the hook shows something slowly forming from nothing with the same smoulder as the beams back in the asylum. Whatever it is coils around the hooks, crackling and spitting menacingly as it slowly begins to wind up the pole of the hook. Nea can do nothing but watch in silent horror as it raises higher and higher, branching off at the top of the hook much like a horrid, dead tree. _Or some sort of gross crab legs_. Either way, she has the sinking feeling that whatever it is is not friendly.

The sudden feeling of hands at her armpits has her startling, inhaling sharply and giving a small “Ah!” as she’s pulled off of the hook. Her hand immediately presses to her shoulders like that can somehow stop the bleeding. Her savior is a dark skinned woman with her dreadlocks back in a ponytail, framed glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. Her clothes are equally as roughed up as the redhead's from earlier. She looks nervous ( _Nea can’t blame her_ ) and quickly looks around before trying to take Nea’s wrist. She is quick to flinch when Nea yanks her hand away from her grasp before whispering. “Please, let me help you. We...we just need to move from here.” She doesn’t try to touch the injured woman again at the moment. Instead, she starts to walk away before looking back over her shoulder with a quiet sort of expectancy. Nea follows with a huff.

Once they reach a more secluded area, the woman ushers her over to crouch in the corner of a few walls. “Here, I can help your shoulder. I...um….can I see it?” Nea has absolutely no reason to trust her, but there’s something in her gentle expression that leads her to finally nod. She silently shuffles closer, the woman examining the gash in her side and the puncture in her shoulder. Nea tries not to wince even though she is gentle, producing a small roll of bandages from one of her pockets. “I’m...my name is Claudette,” She offers in her quiet voice after a moment of silence, pulling out a small vial with some green paste in the bottom. Noticing Nea’s doubting look, she quickly scrambles to explain. “It’s just a salve, it’ll help.” Claudette notices her reluctance and waits until she finally nods again before applying it. It’s an unpleasant texture, but Nea has to admit that maybe it does feel a little better afterwards. Claudette is clearly practiced, winding the bandages over her shoulder in an efficient manner, despite being incredibly gentle. “There….that’ll hold for now at least…”

"What the _fuck_ is going on?" Nea interrupts her bluntly, causing Claudette to flinch again. "Seriously, what is that thing?" 

"I'm...not sure." Claudette admits, her gaze dropping to avoid Nea's. "She's new...I think she arrived when you did."

"I didn't bring her with me, if that's what you're getting at-!"

"I-I'm not!" A loud ding goes off in the distance, a light flaring up in the distance as both women look towards the source of the noise. Claudette takes the opportunity to continue before Nea can. "We just need to finish another generator and the gates can open. If we can get out, we can explain everything. But you need to….you need to trust me."

The look Nea gives her is far from trusting. "You know, I'm getting asked that a lot from people who _aren't giving me much to go off of."_ The guilty look that crosses Claudette's face is almost enough to make Nea regret it, but she holds her glare as the other woman struggles to try to figure out what to say next. All Claudette ends up giving is a small squeak, her eyes moving to look over Nea's shoulder. A shiver runs down her spine. 

A few things happen in near unison. Another ding is heard, followed by a louder sort of horn that blares across the asylum grounds. A screech rings out, the same whoosh of air greeting them both with the arrival of the Nurse. The saw is raised above her head and Nea prepares to dodge before a pair of hands pushes her to the side. She stumbles and rolls, looking back over her shoulder to see Claudette toppling to the ground with a small spray of blood.

"Go!" The darker woman manages out with a cough, the Nurse wheezing and hunching over for a moment where she floats. "The gates!"

Self preservation kicks in and Nea finds her footing, pushing up and narrowly avoiding another slice from the rusted metal. All guilt she feels for leaving the other girl behind is quickly shoved out of her head as she promptly books it, looking over her shoulder to see the Nurse hauling Claudette's limp body up and over her shoulder. It doesn't stop her from running, running until her lungs burn and she's desperately tracing along the tall walls for any sign of a gate. The distant sound of a scream of anguish cries out, but Nea won't look back. _If you want to survive, you look out for yourself first._

It's another moment of running along the wall until she sees the taller structure of the gate, two giant rusty sheets of metal blocking the way. She knows that sure as hell wasn't here before when she had arrived at the asylum, but she can think about that all she wants when she isn't trapped here with some ungodly horror show of a woman.

A quick search of the gates reveals a lever to the side, one that Nea quickly pulls. To her horror it needs time to power up, her heart sinking in her chest. It's going to be a deadly countdown, if the blood smeared handprint to the left of the lever box is anything to go by. 

_One light._

All she can focus on is the slow creaking of the doors contrasted with the pounding of her heart, her eyes darting between the door and behind her. 

_Two lights._

Nea cusses under her breath, willing the gate to somehow open faster if she thinks about it heart enough. Her heartbeat seems to thud even louder in her head. She knows it's a bad sign, though she doesn't know how.

_Three lights._

A siren rings from the door, startling Nea where she stands. "You've got to be fucking _kidding_ me. _Jävla fan!"_ She can hear the screech in the distance and knows she doesn't have much time.

The door shoots open with a metal screech of its own and she lets out a breath she didn't quite realize she was holding. Nea promptly runs through the door. No sooner has she done that before the Nurse strikes at the lever with a loud clang as metal meets metal. Nea takes that as her cue to keep going, running past several brick pillars as the killer floats after her, stopping by the last of the pillars as a bunch of bramble like obstructions rise out of nowhere. 

She pauses before turning around to look at the Nurse, realizing that the killer is unable to follow. "Ha….ha! Fuck you!" Nea flips off the floating woman, gloating in her small moment of apparent victory. The Nurse seems to stare at her for a moment. Even though Nea can't see her face, she has the distinct feeling that she's looking at her like _this isn't over._

Nea presses that out of her head and keeps going, leaving that hellhole behind before realizing she left her backpack in the asylum. _Fuck, that was like sixty bucks worth of paint._ She shakes her head to herself as she heads through a small area and into the beginnings of some forest. At this point she's just lucky to be alive, though the adrenaline is the only thing keeping her from being shaken by the whole thing.

For now, she keeps moving. Maybe she can find the road from here, even if a sinking feeling tells her otherwise.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone!
> 
> This is my first time uploading a fic, so I really hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Please feel free to leave constructive criticism or comments!
> 
> I'll be updating a little slow- mostly between balancing university and also due to illustrating it as well. 
> 
> Thanks :D


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